The Gazzetta dello Sport has published an Italian football
rich-list, publicising the wage bills of the country's highest
earners, as well as the overall player expenditure of selected
Serie A clubs.
Brazilian superstar Kaka tops the charts, which contain just two
Italians in the top six:
Kaka (AS Milan) - 5.9m euro
Francesco Totti (AS Roma) - 5.46m euro
Zlatan Ibhraimovic (Internazionale) - 5m euro
Patrick Vieira (Internazionale) - 5m euro
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) - 5m euro
Adriano (Internazionale) - 5m euro
As for clubs' overall wage bills, Gazzetta's survey throws up some
surprising results.
Predictably, it is the Milan pairing that dominates. AC Milan top
the list with 118 million euros per year, with Inter just behind,
spending 109 million.
Then come Juventus, newly promoted to Serie A, with 97 million.
After that, though, there is a gap. Roma spend just 59 million a
year, making them the team with, perhaps, the most bang for its
buck.
Lazio apparently spend a mere 17 million a year, making them the
most cost-effective of all Italian Champions League entrants, while
Cagliari are the most frugal team of all those surveyed, shelling
out just 11 million euros a year - less than a tenth of Milan's
expenditure.